Kraken
The Kraken (scientific name Architeuthis charbydis), which often grows to nearly 120 feet long from end to tentacle tip, is one of the largest and most dangerous creatures. These massive cephalopods are known for their tendency to destroy passing ships and have been reported in open oceans all across the Known World (though they are most common in the Old World and rarest in Celestia's Influence). Appearance A kraken has eight massive arms and one pair of crusher tentacles that make up more than half their total body length. These massive rubbery tentacles are lined with large, suction cups that are powerful enough to warp a creature's face into virtual non-existance, and the ones on the ends of the crusher tentacles have large hooks and serrated edges. The Kraken's body is typically green with sploches of brown and grey (though they do have the ability to change color like a cuttlefish, so variences are common). These titanic sea monsters have massive "emotionless" orange eyes with black large black pupils that are good at seeing in the low-light regions of the deep sea. The Kraken has a parrot-like beak for a mouth, and inside this mouth is several rows of pointed fangs lining the interior of the throat. Behavior The Kraken's primary method of attack is to wrap its tentacles around its prey and pull them into their mouth while creating a massive whirlpool to prevent any easy escape. It is believed that Krakens will eat any aquatic animal smaller than themselves, including smaller krakens. Krakens are well known for attacking and attempting to sink passing ships. It is theorized that Krakens only do this because they mistake the siloette of the ships' undersides for passing whales. Krakens are believed to spend a majority of their time sleeping on the sea floor between meals so that they may conserve their energy. Lore Most of what is known about krakens comes from the lucky few that escape their attacks and from their massive damaged corpses that ocassionally wash up upon the shores. Most believe that the corpses that wash ashore are simply krakens that die of naturally after they spawn (just like normal-sized squids and octopi are known to do) and that the bodies are in the damaged state they are in when they reach the shore because other sea creatures have taken the oppritunity to make an easy meal out of a giant corpse. However, many a dead Kraken are recorded as being found with unusual 4 foot long barbed spines embedded in the flesh. Most professional scholars scoff at the ideas put forth by "crackpot conspiracy theorists" that these unsual "spines" are actually the spears of mythological "sea ponies" that hunt the krakens for sport, and they instead propose that the spines most likely originate from some undiscovered species of massive sea urchin or spiny starfish that also lives on the deep ocean floor. Trivia * "Kraken's teeth" (which are actually throat spikes or tentacle hooks) are sold to beach-goers at souveneir stores and shell stands for a relatively large price due to their rarity (like conch or nautilus shells). These "Kraken's teeth" are turned into good-luck charms and are usually found washed onshore by themselves or recovered from kraken corpses. * A potent, perhapes inteligent, individual known as the Squirk was known to roam the oceans at the dawn of time according to oral Zebra lore. Considering the legends never say if it had died or not, the general reasoning is that it is "just sleeping". Category:Creatures Category:Sea Monsters Category:Kaiju